# Idiot Tries To Buy iPod With Bogus $4.99 Barcode **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 2, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804 "2005-12-02T20:33:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/1 "2005-12-02T20:33:33Z")
$4.99 iPod? College Student Accused In Barcode Switch > [@](#): > > BOULDER, Colo. – A 19-year-old freshman at the University of Colorado faces criminal charges after police said he made a fake bar code label to buy an iPod for $4.99. The actual price of the MP3 player was $149.99. > Jonathan Baldino was arrested Wednesday at a Target store and police said the electrical-engineering student admitted making phony bar codes using a program he downloaded off the Internet… > > Baldino wrote a statement for police that begged them not to prosecute him, according to The Denver Post. > “I will NEVER EVER DO THIS EVER AGAIN and I am once more terribly sorry,” Baldino wrote. “Please let me go for I am terribly sorry!!! I’m only a kid! Help me out. I just want to go home. I did this not knowing of the serious penalty that lies behind it. Please! Please! Please!” > Baldino faces a felony charge of forgery and two misdemeanor counts of theft… Yeah, you’re “sorry” all right, but not in that sense of the word. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/2 "2005-12-02T20:58:56Z")
Well, he was only “terribly sorry!!!” and not “terribly sorry!!!111one`”, so I don’t think he’s that repentant. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/3 "2005-12-02T21:00:09Z")
Oh, and the absolute best part about it? > [@](#): > > Police said that Baldino didn’t even pay for the software program. He used barcodes generated during the 15-day trial period. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/4 "2005-12-02T21:10:35Z")
Only three Pleases? Bah! String him up! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/5 "2005-12-02T21:33:12Z")
No, the best part is this: > [@the dumbass](#): > > I did this not knowing of the serious penalty that lies behind it. Translation: “I’m not sorry I did it, I’m just sorry I got caught!” **ivylass** , I’ve got the rope if you’ve got the tree. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/6 "2005-12-02T21:54:24Z")
I remember I caught someone doing this ONCE when I worked retail. A woman went ahead and taped the bar code from a 6-pack of Pepsi to the bottom of her 24-pack of Pepsi. I was the fastest cashier EVER (except for Mark, but not only did he look like Luke Skywalker, he was also a cokehead, so he was disqualified as far as I was concerned), but I still caught it. Take that, biatch. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/7 "2005-12-02T22:03:09Z")
“I’m really sorry. It was wrong of me to have murdered so many people in so short a time, and I promise never to do it again.” –Eric Idle ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/8 "2005-12-02T22:08:10Z")
You think the idiot’s lawyer’s first piece of advice is going to be “Shut The Fuck Up”? > [@Jonathan Baldino](#): > > I did this not knowing of the serious penalty that lies behind it. That should double his sentence, right there. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/9 "2005-12-02T22:14:58Z")
> [@96.7% Discount Price Slasher](#): > > A 19-year-old freshman at the University of Colorado…blah…blah…blah > > Baldino wrote a statement for police that begged them not to prosecute him, according to The Denver Post. > “I will NEVER EVER DO THIS EVER AGAIN and I am once more terribly sorry,” Baldino wrote. “Please let me go for I am terribly sorry!!! **I’m only a kid!** Help me out. I just want to go home. I did this not knowing of the serious penalty that lies behind it. Please! Please! Please!” > Baldino faces a felony charge of forgery and two misdemeanor counts of theft… My 17 year-old told me last night that he wasn’t a kid anymore. I chuckled. But, I’m sooooooo confused. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/10 "2005-12-02T22:30:00Z")
I’m sorry I caused all that cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/11 "2005-12-02T22:43:46Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > I’m sorry I caused all that cancer. Funny what you find out in dress rehearsal, isn’t it? I understand, though - you were on a roll. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/12 "2005-12-02T22:46:34Z")
What a moron. An electircal engineering student didn’t know better? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/13 "2005-12-02T22:59:46Z")
I think his punishment should involve being given an iPod full of Slim Whitman songs played at the wrong speed and be forced to listen to it 16 hours a day for the rest of the year. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/14 "2005-12-02T23:07:25Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > I think his punishment should involve being given an iPod full of Slim Whitman songs played at the wrong speed and be forced to listen to it 16 hours a day for the rest of the year. What’s the matter with playing them at the _right_ speed? And do you really think four weeks is enough? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/15 "2005-12-02T23:24:26Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > What’s the matter with playing them at the _right_ speed? And do you really think four weeks is enough? Mmmm…tough guy, eh? How about doing that AND having to stand in front of the store (on one foot) and wearing only white jockey underwear and having the fake bar code tattooed on his chest. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/16 "2005-12-02T23:29:36Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m only a kid! That there is definitely the best part. Of course, I wouldn’t have thought that this would be a felony either. The felony is “forgery” - would it have been a forgery if he’d just somehow pried a barcode off another product? Also, the misdemeanor charges of “theft” - is it theft if you get caught in the act? Or an attempted theft? Maybe I’m splitting too many hairs. Still, I’m happy if it interfere’s with this guy’s getting an electrical engineering job since he’s clearly too dumb for that. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/17 "2005-12-02T23:40:38Z")
Also, what cashier is really going to say: “4.99 for an iPod? Seems fair.” It’s not like he was buying something inconspicuous, like soft drinks. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/18 "2005-12-02T23:48:07Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > What a moron. An electircal engineering student didn’t know better? Many EE students have a very slim grasp of reality. Note:Bubbadog is an EE and lived among EE students at a time in his life. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/19 "2005-12-02T23:49:59Z")
> [@LaurAnge](#): > > Also, what cashier is really going to say: “4.99 for an iPod? Seems fair.” It’s not like he was buying something inconspicuous, like soft drinks. Maybe he was hoping to bluff his way through with the “That’s what the sticker price says, you have to sell it for that – it’s the law!” tack. …but more likely he suffers from the common blindness that prevents people from intuiting how a given scenario might appear to someone who’s not as astonishingly stupid as themselves. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804/20 "2005-12-02T23:51:45Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Many EE students have a very slim grasp of reality. > Note:Bubbadog is an EE and lived among EE students at a time in his life. Really? Should I go recheck the wiring in my building? 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-tries-to-buy-ipod-with-bogus-4-99-barcode/333804.md?page=2)